Stop dissing Pakistan cricket

We should be proud of Pakistan for achieving all that it has, and not get caught in the downward spiral of hate and resentment. PHOTO : ESSA MALIK

The Salman, Amir and Asif case is over now. The so-called ‘cricket experts’ should know that whatever the trio did was in their personal capacity and nothing was backed by the government or by the people of Pakistan.

Hansie Cronje, Azharuddin, Ajay Sharma, Ajay Jadeja, Salim Malik, Ata ur Rehman, Maurice Odumbe, Marlon Samuels, Mark Waugh, Shane Warne, Brian Lara, Aravinda De Silva and Arjuna Ranatunga from different nationalities have also been in close contact with bookies. Few of them have also faced life bans and heavy fines as they were either involved in match/spot fixing or in giving information to the bookies.

Each one of them did whatever they did in their personal capacity although they caused similar kind of pain for their countrymen and fans. None of them was sent to jail because the laws for these crimes were not made at the time. Had the Pakistani trio committed this sin in any other country, they would have not have been sent to jail as England is the only cricket playing country which made laws for such cases in 2005.

If Indian, South African, West Indian, Sri Lankan and Kenyan players can do this to their respective countries, then we must know that Pakistanis are no exception, and are, at the end of the day, human. Just like other cricket playing countries, Pakistan has also faced bad patches and this is one of them. Above all, a few scandals does not essentially mean that Pakistani players have stopped performing well or will never perform well at the highest level of the game.

Pakistan has been playing cricket since August 2010 without Salman, Amir and Asif and they managed to play the Semi Final of cricket’s biggest tournament, the World Cup 2011, in a land where they were facing threats. They outplayed the then world champions Australia and runner ups Sri Lanka in pool matches, and topped the group with maximum scores at the points table. They outclassed the West Indies in the Quarter Final and gave a real hard time to India in the Semi Final, so lets not forget what our cricket team has done for us.

Pakistani players have performed exceptionally well at the highest level of the game, in recent days too. Lets take a look at some highlights:

1- Pakistan has won the Super Sixes tournament.

2- Pakistan has secured a safe place in the Test series against Sri Lanka by going one up. Even if they lose the third Test, they will not lose the series.

Thus, our nation should learn to celebrate our victories, and let go of the mishaps along the way. Pakistani cricket should be thankful to the trio for their contribution to Pakistan cricket with their performance before getting involved in the spot-fixing case. Young cricketers should also be thankful to them too, as they will likely not be involved in any spot/match fixing cases in the near future after witnessing the trio’s outcome.

Pakistan has proven that it is a land of legends. It has produced Imran Khan, Jahangir Khan, Jansher Khan, Shahbaz Ahmad, Hassan Sardar, Muhammad Yousuf, Naseem Hameed, Aisamul Haq, Javaid Miandad, Waqar Younis, Wasim Akram, Abdul Qadir – all legends from different sports. Each of them has earned love and respect for their nation and our youth will also follow their footprints.

Pakistani players should move forward by keeping their greats’ achievements in mind, and not get caught in the downward spiral of the shame the trio has brought us. We should understand that every nation has its fair share of scandals, and Pakistan will soon recover.

A corporate training specialist and motivational speaker. Fuad has also worked as a professional sports journalist for Daily Khabrain and has been writing bi-lingual articles for national and international journals. He played professional cricket at the Under 16 and Under 19 level.

Indians, South Africans, Sri Lankans, Australians, West Indians…..not a single guy from these countries ever resorted to outright denial to defend their country men, Not a single fan from these countries said that there was a conspiracy to malign the good name of their country.

But, Pakistani fans are different. If you have been reading the comments in these sections, you’d have noticed that, till a few days back, the cricket fans of Pakistan were shouting themselves hoarse saying that this was a conspiracy BCCI and ECB and ICC.

Since we deny these so much, in the face of overwhelming evidence, people naturally love to rub it in. Let’s come out of denial and then the world will respecting us. If we continue our practice of blaming others, then they will continue to diss our cricket.Recommend

http://bigsaf.newsvine.com bigsaf

Indian, South African, West Indian, Sri Lankan and Kenyan

Where are they on the corruption index? You’re right, Pakistan is no exception of being a 3rd world country….sadly come up in the bad scandal cricket news slightly and comparatively more than their other 3rd world counterparts. Compare all of their law enforcement with England. See a difference in accountability?

Should not lose hope, but you are white-washing a serious matter and making it like as it it’s okay because everyone else does it too, or that they don’t have laws for it so it wouldn’t have been a big deal elsewhere. It’s not okay, and it is a big deal.

You mention Wasim Akram and Waqar Younis. Qayyum had openly admitted his own corruption when he claimed that there was evidence for Akram in match-fixing that he would have received a full life ban. But because Qayyum favoured Akram as a ‘national asset’, instead gave him a slap on the wrist. How does this reflect on Pakistani courts as a whole?

If you think integrity and honour means little and cheating, bribery at the national and international level is okay (including corruption at the judicial court), by all means go ahead and put him on a pedestal. I don’t discount his talent or achievements. I do however think if the youth will respect or follow in the footprints of someone, it has to be better role-models. Recommend

Rizvi

Very good article. The trio were involved in Sport Fixing but most of the players mentioned above were involved in match fixing. Pakistan team is performing very well under Misbah. So nothing to worry about, this just filtered the team and the rest of the players are honest.Recommend

khan jr

I can’t really really be blamed for thinking that the cricket record of the Pakistani cricket team would have been much, much better if some of the scoundrels had not sold out numerous matches for selfish personal gain.

I was there in the UK in 1999 when they suffered a ‘shock’ defeat at the hands of Bangladesh – the betting odds that day were 40-1. I came to learn a day after that that a player who was considered to be more honest than most, had placed GBP 10,000, using his brother as a proxy, on a Bangladesh win (thereby netting himself GBP 400,000). That is just one of many, many examples where greed came before all else. I am sure readers can quote dozens of other examples – the Australian-Pakistan Test in January 2010 was one that rocked me to say the least.

It is time we stopped pointing fingers at other countries, that’s their problem. We have to fix ours. Senior executives in the PCB have much to answer for their pathetic attitude in what they choose to call ‘management’. Ejaz Butt, and his similarly incompetent predecessors, have a lot to answer for. Recommend

http://www.tanzeel.wordpress.com Tanzeel

PCB is involved in the corruption in a sense that it has always turned a blind eye towards corrupt cricketers. Ejaz Butt created a snowball effect of corruption charges made by ICC on our cricketers and played a blame game instead of inquiring against the trio. Why Justice Qayyum Report’s recommendations were not implemented speaks volume about the credibility of Pakistan Cricket Board.Recommend

TK

The author has rightly pointed out the achievements we have had in the recent past. And yes they should be celebrated. But coming out and saying that other people have also done things of this sort, does not mean it is OK for us our cricketers to do the same. I live out side Pakistan and am a proud Pakistani. I try to hold up our national prestige in whatever way it is possible. These people if they were framed, still had brains, didn’t they? Without even giving it a bit of thought, they just went and did what they did or got framed? And even if they got framed, the past speaks against them. Why is that the other sports you have mentioned above are not full of scandals? When a Pakistani goes out of his homeland in which ever capacity it is such as a student, a tourist, a sportsman and etc, they all have a responsibility: UPHOLD OUR NATION’S NAME AND ITS INTEGRITY. We as Pakistanis have gotten into this habit of pointing fingers at others and consoling ourselves by saying this that since others are doing this, it is OK for us too. We like to pacify ourselves by brushing things under the carpet without realizing that sooner or later that dirt will come out again. The hockey players do get thrashed, but at least they work hard. Aisam ul Haq doesn’t win tournaments, but he is still respected where ever he goes. So why do our cricketer who are followed like anything, do all this crap. Their genuine wins are also questioned now ! It is time we wake up, smell the coffee and get our acts together. Recommend

If just put in more time, money and efforts in other sports, than maybe these cricketers will realize that their actions are costing us a lot. Forget the wins and losses. But at least play with honesty, dedication, integrity and above of all pride for our nation. And this is not restricted to sports only, but rather to everything else we do.

These sportsmen lose, but they lose with pride. Not body questions their credibility !! Recommend

http://www.facebook.com/MehakIftikharAli Mehak I. Ali

Sometimes I dont understand WHY we Pakistanis always get caught in such issues.
Oh how I wish the Indians were jailed.Recommend

http://www.ahmadhammad.com Ahmad Hammad

A wonderful write-up…
I agree to your points Ahmad Fuad.
Pakistan is a great country. It has revolutionized the world cricket. Starting from Fazal Mahmood upto Junaid Khan, the tale of excellence continues to inspire the nations including India; the new world champions.
Cricket is a binding force in Pakistan. It evokes Pakistaniat among us. I too have written something on this issue. Please visit [link text][1]

[1]: http://www.ahmadhammad.com“Hammad’s point of view on Pakistaniat and our Heroes”
Fuad, continue writing and putting forth the FACTS we are unaware of…
Bravo…
HammadRecommend

F.Rabia

Whats done is done…we move forward and ensure our own governing body i.e BCCP sets sets checks and balances to rule out future chnaces of match fixing.Why wash your dirty linen infront of the world if it can be sent to the dhobi at home??

Despite all the negative press our boys have done well.Thank you Ahmad for highlighting the positives as mostly are busy ,aligning not only our team but our ounce of remaining self respect.Recommend

hedgefunder

The differance is that in this day and age of internet, this trio’s agent was viewed accepting the cash and making calls !!!
Add to that some of the marked cash was found in their rooms as well as the mobile call logs!!!
There was ample evidence in public domain for average person to view, hence the concern!!!!Recommend

Aleem Ullah

a column by the cricketer who loves cricket more than himself, it looks like,
well Mr.Ahmad,We never ever have learned lesson from history so are we facing the stunning music these times. Sever eons ago wasim, Waqar, Imran,ejaz Ahmad so and so…. and these days Shoaib Malik,Afridi and their ilks, have been caught doing wrong , be it a ball tampering, doping, gambling, or be their misbehavior, have Pakistani Management done something good so that it may hone the credibility of Pcb increase tremendously???? the answer surely you know……., take the recent example of “Chore Shoaib Malik” who had been banned for criket has returned again. My question is why?????? why has he been brought back???? is Pakistan having lack of Talent??? No!!!!!!, the answer is that we have become impotent.” these players have always played with the emotions of “Innocent Pakis”, who deem them saviours of Morale of Pakistan which actually they are not.. they are but chicaners, feigners and pretenders as are our politicians. You talked about World cup semi-final, who knows in how much despondency we are for that… when you fill the room of your team with the hand picket people rather than deserved ones, How will you achieve success, It is time the whole team management was revamped….. but again the question is who will do this when the Pcb chair man is also hand-picked one???/Recommend

Fatima Tufail

A good writeup!
I agree with you on this point that Pakistani cricket lovers should not consider only the negative side of our cricket players. They have done pretty well in the past and we have had a bunch of great cricketers.
But one thing I would like to highlight here. Sometimes we try to consider some bad deeds of ours which are very common in todays world well as a negligible ‘gunnah’ for example match fixing, cheating in class rooms, lying etc etc. No doubt match fixing is done by other countries as well but in the end we should all know that it is wrong. I myself am very deeply sad for this imprisonment of our valuable cricket players. But then again this was much needed and it gives a warning to the new players. I hope this will serve as an example to the new ones and no one will try to defame the country again with such deeds. Recommend

Samir

@ Mehak – what does your comment mean? You somehow imply that Indians should be jailed and the poor and naive Pakistani cricketers just got caught up in this? Why is our Pakistani habit to always blame others?

What the author misses is that we Pakistanis kept thinking this was some sort of conspiracy. That’s why our country is stuck in the Middle Ages while other countries progress rapidly.Recommend

Saher

Pakistanis have moved on long ago. It’s only our media which has not. Recommend

Nadeem

And few more good news…
Pakistan has won SAARC T20 tournament
Won Test Series against Sri Lanka.
Won one more match in Kabaddi World Cup.Recommend

http://www.ahmadhammad.com Ahmad Hammad

@Samir:
We do NOT live in an island. Pakistan is an important country, therefore, a friend and a foe for various countries simultaneously. Those who love Pakistan, want Pakistan to prosper from every aspect. But those who hate us for some reasons, want to devastate us from all the corners.
Samir, why should NOT India conspire against our cricket?
In a globally vibrant and dynamic world, we fall prey to the conspiracies at all levels; and so are our foes or friends. You must read the article below in order to get something more about the ‘conspiracy’ you do not believe in…http://www.ahmadhammad.com/articles/news-articles/the-jailed-cricketers-saddam-qaddhafi-and-zardariRecommend

Sardar Talha Tahir

amir,asif and salman should have been trialed on pakistani soil, PCB did not play its role in order to bring this case to pakistan’s court of lawRecommend

Zaree

A very painful topic…
No matter how hard it is for us to bear this occurerence but it would always be a good lesson for new comers.
You rightly said Pakistan is a land of talent. We can move forward and should focus on positives.
Thank you for sharing such positive thoughts in such a negative and cloudy environment.Recommend

Random Passerby

Pakistan lost to USA in Kabaddi of all things and you consider this as a positive?Recommend

Anika

Wow… Positivity out of negative events… Great…
I find it highly informative, encouraging and a true dipiction of Pakistani sports.
You did a wonderful work by sharing your thoughts with everyone. As now a days, Pakistani cricket team is facing a real crises in international media.Recommend

Saima

I must appreciate the positive tone in the article – something we all as Pakistanis and Cricket-Lovers will appreciate, not forgetting the families of the concerned cricketers. I do, however, believe that just because a lot of such scandals have surfaced in past years of cricketers from other nations, it does not make it right to condone such acts. But on grounds of fairness the sentences they have got will be a better reminder for them of how they have let us down; we need to now ‘move on’ as you put in.
My two cents would be: if you could shed some light on previous such scandals and how those cricketers and nations have dodged the bad press. And how come scandals like this make headlines news in International Dailys! After all, it is about ‘Branding’. So how can our team, the respective Board, and us as avid fans can improve the branding of Pakistan Cricket Team.Recommend

http://www.mrbutt.webs.com M. Yousaf Butt

its a marvelous piece of writing.
as we all know that all are against at Pakistan so thats why it might be pre planned to involve Pakistani cricketers in match fixing. Recommend

Shomail Asif

a very good piece of writing i strongly agree with your point and i would like to add up a few things. it is us who is responsible for all this, Indian media is not the only one who is dissing Pakistan cricket it our own media who is. our media only care about viewership and we take interest in all that but as a nation we should think what is in the favour of our country and what is not. many of us may not think in the way i do but it is my opinion.Recommend

Sohaib Alvi

You have the right idea Ahmad. I too am on of those who believe we must make best use of what we have with us. if you see my program on CNBC (its on my wall, you’ll see me saying the same thing about other countries.

Unfortunately, with us its a management and administration problem of each sport. You have to judge from where we were in Squash, Hockey, Cricket to see why the Pakistani yearns for more I guess. But i agree we should continue to focus on the positives.Recommend

http://www.ahmadhammad.com Ahmad Hammad

Well, I’m a regular reader of Ahmad Fuad. He’s logical, clean-headed and positive while writing.
His love for Pakistan isn’t a hidden treasure. Everyone could come and have the gems out of the never-lessening treausre.
I learnt writing on Sports from Fuad. You can read my article on the Jailed Cricketers at:

Fuad:
Please read this article. I’ve written it in light of your vision :)

We cannot forget the Semi Final in India. It was captained by our charming hero Shahid Afridi whose team couldn’t win. It was weird…
Let’s have a look at the tale of another semi final which shall give a clue to the question as to why Shahid Afridi had to lose the semi final in March this year…

A.o.A
I think many cricketers are involve in match fixing in past for example Sharn Warn,Azzrudin and lots of other country players but punishment is only for Pakistani why because he is all Muslim.I think,this is all propoganda to stop all sports activity in PAkistan.
BMC……7 (9144)Recommend

Pakistanis have moved on long ago. It’s only our media which has not.
RecommendRecommend

hamad aslam

Very good article. The trio were involved in Sport Fixing but most of the players mentioned above were involved in match fixing. Pakistan team is performing very well under Misbah. So nothing to worry about, this just filtered the team and the rest of the players are honest.Recommend

beenish

our media plays negitive role but insome axtent it doesnt distory our nation we have michor mind to anaylis the facts .. its depend on us and our nation … Recommend

all crckters are good but some time they take much pressure so they perform badRecommend

Sajeel Haider

Respected Sir
Impressive article….according to me match fixing becoming very comon among the crickters day by day…they dont think tht they are playing with the feelings of thier country…dont want to mention the example becouse now its much comon in the whole world…so i sugest all crickters to plz stop match fixing…becouse they are considered to be the Heroes……….. Recommend

Mujeeb Riaz.

Hi…….
I believe this is all kind of propoganda and Pakistani cricketers are ashmed for this activity.
BMC…..9124Recommend

hamad

Without even giving it a bit of thought, they just went and did what they did or got framed? And even if they got framed, the past speaks against them. Why is that the other sports you have mentioned above are not full of scandals? When a Pakistani goes out of his homeland in which ever capacity it is such as a student, a tourist, a sportsman and etc, they all have a responsibility: Recommend